Everett's Two Year Stats

We had Everett's 2 year well visit today- here are his stats:
Weight: 29 lbs. (75th percentile)
Height: 35.25" (75th percentile)
Head: 49" (not sure of the percentile, but I'm sure it's high because his head is huge!)

Fun at TRU...

Let's slide together!

4 Years Old

 My baby girl is FOUR YEARS OLD today!!!  I could write pages and pages of how special she is, but what sticks out to me most at this age is how kind she is and what a big heart she has at such a young age.  The most unaffectionate baby has become a complete cuddle muffin.  She tells me she loves me about 10 times a day and is always wanting to give hugs and kisses.  She is the type of person that will give you the shirt off her back...the kind of person we all strive to be.  If she has a cookie or something really special, instead of trying to keep it all for herself or even get more, she offers every.single.time. to share with her brother...even though he would never do the same for her! ;)

She is the perfect combination of a tomboy and girly girl.  She likes princesses, she LOVES baby dolls, but there is nothing she would rather do than be outside and play a sport or go on a hike.  She is a total "mommy" and always tries to take care of everything and everyone.  She even gives me nightly backrubs (and she's better than Gary!).

There is a quote floating around Pinterest that always reminds me of her, and it goes something like this..."Of all the little girls in all the world, how did I get so lucky that God gave me the best one?"  I feel this every day of my life.

For her birthday dinner, she chose...

And the reason she chose it is because she wanted the 'make your own ice cream sundae' dessert. :)

Blowing out my candle...

Now let's start making this sundae!

And shoveling it in...

Mmmm...

Tada!

Me and my baby girl...

18 Months & More Summertime Fun

Everett's very first ice cream cone- he LOVED it!

That little chunk of adorableness is 18 months old!  His stats:

Weight: 23 lbs. (35th percentile- still skinny minnie!)
Height: 33.5" (80th percentile but 90th percentile adjusted- still TALL!)

He is our fussy one and definitely keeps us on our toes!  We often tell him he's very lucky that he's so darn cute. ;)  He's all boy...into everything, crawling up anything, messy, loud...all of it.  He's SO different from Ella at that age!

He is similar to Ella at that age in that he is ALL daddy ALL the time.  He seriously wants nothing to do with me, but it doesn't bother me this time around because I know it changes since Ella is attached to my hip now!

He LOVES milk and is a fairly good eater.  He loves balls and still isn't into cars or trains.

He is starting speech therapy in a week, but he is talking more (and gibberish talking more) and seems to be less frustrated.  We think he says dog, hi, milk (ma ma), cheese, cheers, ball (ba), night night, water (wa wa) and other words sporadically.  He loves to point and clap, and he has the cutest smile I've ever seen in my entire life!!!!
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Ella and Everett got to meet Cadence and Nathan's new baby sister, Ellie, this weekend- she is so tiny and cute!!  Everett could not care less, but of course, Ella was obsessed!

We went to a spontaneous dinner at our good friends' house (which meant I didn't have to cook on Sunday night- woo hoo!), and this picture is just the epitome of summertime...all the kids lined up eating their ice cream!!

Everett 15 Months

Sorry for the lame photos, but I don't have a good photo, and I wanted to post his 15 month update!

He is actually almost 15.5 months, but we just had his 15 months appointment yesterday.  His stats:
Weight: 23.2 pounds (40th percentile)
Height: 34.25 inches (75th percentile)

And we continue with the tall and skinny!

He is running like crazy, and although he walked later than Ella, he never had the crawl/walk stage.  He went straight from crawling to always walking and now running!  If he does start to crawl, and you say, "no Everett, stand up please", he will get right up and walk.

Which brings me to the next thing...he understands everything!  He is a man of few words but doesn't miss a beat. ;)

Aside from mama and dada, he is very selective with his words.  He likes to say "ball" (ba), "kick", "more" (ma), and I think he said "no" yesterday.  I think he says other things once in a while but not with any regularity.

He points and claps a lot, but he never waves anymore!  He loves to dance.  If you turn up the music in the car and say, "let's dance Everett!" he will bop his head and go crazy in his carseat.

He LOVES stuffed animals, which is so funny because Ella never really cared about them.  He lights up when he sees a stuffed animal and hugs and hugs it.  The only other toy he really likes are balls.  He still doesn't care much for cars.

He also loves animals- especially dogs.  He makes a kissing sound over and over every single time he sees a dog!  It's adorable.  He'll run over to the dog, but he likes to stay about 1 foot away from them. 

Everett's 9 Month Stats- My Little Bean Pole

Everett has his 9 month well visit this morning, and he's getting even TALLER and SKINNIER!  He is in the 95th percentile (over 100th percentile adjusted age!) for height but only in the 15th percentile for weight!  What the heck??!!  Here are his stats:

Weight: 17 lbs. 13 oz. (Ella was 19 pounds!!)
Height: 29 3/4" (Ella was 28")
Head: 46"

His head is still a little flat- the doctor said it's purely cosmetic, and I think it looks fine, but Gary says he doesn't want him to have a funky head in case he has to shave his head (like Gary!) later in life ;) so Gary wants to get a consult with the helmet people.

Everett 6.5 Months

This little monkey is 6.5 months old now!

He's getting so much more interactive, he "talks" a ton, and he's always smiling.  He's grabbing for e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g., including Ella's face and hair, but she just laughs...we'll see how long that lasts when he gets her toys!

We are feeding him lots more solids now.  He LOVES oatmeal cereal (which Ella wasn't a big fan of), but unfortunately, he doesn't seem to like anything green.  Ella would eat any baby food you put in front of her, and I think peas & green beans were her favorite.  Everett likes sweet potatoes, but if you give him anything green, he'll push it all out of his mouth. :(  I'm now trying to put a little bit in his sweet potatoes.

I honestly thought all babies just ate whatever you gave them since Ella easily ate anything.  I know they get picky with table food, but pureed veggies?  Really?  Ella still loves green beans and broccoli, and I'm bummed because I think this is an indication that Everett will not be a veggie kid like Ella.  Most of my friends that had finicky babies that didn't like veggies say their kids still won't eat them.  Blah.

He starts at Ella's school on Tuesday!  I can't wait!!

Everett 6 Month Stats

Everett had his 6 month WBV today...
Height: 26.5 inches (about 50th percentile)
Weight: 14.12 pounds (5th percentile)
Head Circ: 43.5 (95% percentile)

Um, no wonder this kid can't sit up...with a noggin like that, I'll be surprised if he can walk without tipping over!

Gary asked the ped about his head being a little flat, and he said it's not too bad (I think Ella's was worse), but we have to come back in 6 weeks to re-evaluate whether he will need a helmet.

Everett 4 Month Ped Visit & Ella Sleeping...

Stats at 4 Months...

• Weight 11.11 lbs : 25th percentile adjusted, but less than 5th percentile actual- he's tiny! (Ella was 12.4lbs)
• Height 24.25" : 75th percentile adjusted, about 25th percentile actual (Ella was 23.5")
• Head Circ. 41.5" : 95th percentile for both adjusted and actual- giant! (Ella was 39.5")

So the verdict is that this kid is going to be TALL and skinny.  I can't believe he weighs less then Ella did but is almost an inch taller!  Ella is now in the 90-95th percentile for height so Everett may be off the charts when he's her age...does anyone know a toddler basketball coach? ;)

Ella Sleeping

Two nights ago, we tried Ella's big girl bed again.  She cried/screamed and got of bed twice before Gary stood at her door and held it shut (since we didn't have a lock on it yet).  It was painful listening to her cry, but she only tried the door two more times and each time she couldn't get out, she crawled right back into bed!  No playing in her room, no crawling on the furniture, nothing!  Then she eventually fell asleep!

Yesterday, I put her down for her nap, she cried but immediately stopped the second I walked out the door and didn't get out of bed once!  Last night, she did not even cry when I left the room!  And once again did not get out of bed. :)

I wish we would have just kept trying the first time we switched her.  I think we were just so shocked that it was even slightly difficult since she has always been easy and a textbook sleeper that we didn't know what to do!  Now, looking back at it, this transition was easy too.  It just *seemed* harder then when we sleep trained her as a baby because as a baby she could only cry- not get out of bed! 

6 Week Stats & Some Firsts...

Everett had his 6 week checkup today (although he's actually 6w4d).  He weighs 7 lbs. 4 oz.!  That sounds so huge to me, however, he is still not even on the regular growth chart for his actual age.  Using his adjusted age (which would be 3 days old!), he is in the 40th percentile for weight.  He is 20 inches, which is 75% percentile adjusted (of course he's going to be super tall like Ella).  His head is WAY bigger than Ella's, but I can't remember the measurement.  Ella was 6lb. 4oz. and 19.5 inches at 6 weeks.

He is newborn diapers and newborn clothing, although he is pretty much too long for newborn size even though they are much too wide.  He is still eating 60-70 ml (about 2 oz.) of milk each bottle every 2.5-3 hours during the day (BM during the day and formula at night).  Last night I fed him at 10:30 p.m. and then not again until 3 a.m. so not too shabby!  We switched from regular newborn formula at night to Gentalese, and that seems to have helped with the reflux a bit.

He is still an exceptionally good baby.  He really only cries when he's really hungry or gets fussy if he really wants to be held, but for the most part, he will just sit quietly and observe.  He is just so precious, and the perfect baby to be the last!

Ella also went to the pediatrician to check on her double ear infection, and it's gone!  She is still a wonderful big sister, and she has become a little chatterbox!  Seriously, she can hold a regular conversation now, and it's kind of freaky.  The things she understands, and the sentences she says completely shock me.  When did my baby become a full-fledged little girl???????

We had two firsts today....

(1) Everett had his first poopy blowout- I almost forgot about those!

(2) I took the both kids out by myself today!  Just to Joanns really quickly, but it's a start.  I had to get out of the house because our cleaning lady is here, and it's raining so we can't go to the park...I figured I may as well get an errand out of the way.  I used the stroller for Everett and let Ella walk, and it was much easier than I thought it would be.  However, that is ONLY because Ella was a perfect angel in the store and stayed right with me, didn't grab things and was in a good mood.  We all know that can go either way so I just got lucky!

One Month Old

Everett is already 1 month old today!  Time flies.  He is such a good baby and so laid back.  He is finally starting to wake up more so he is crying/being fussy more now, but it's still very rare.  He sleeps a lot, but he eats every 3 hours.  He wears preemie or newborn size diapers, and newborn size sleepers are still huge on him width-wise.  He is just starting to make eye contact every once in a while, and he will sometimes track a rattle, but for the most part, he just looks every which way around him and stares into space!

Ella is still madly in love with him...I thought by now she'd be kind of over it, but she just adores him. When she wakes up in the morning or from her nap, the first thing she wants to do is go check on baby brother. She constantly wants to hold his hand, and she is always giving him kisses.

We took Everett out for his first real outing yesterday.  Since he's still not supposed to be out unless we are outdoors, what better place then an outdoor mall?! 

Funny that our first outings seem to always involve shopping!  Here is the photo of our first outing with Ella to Baby Gap...

A few months ago, I met another great mama, who lives a street away from us and has a daughter the same age as Ella.  Today the girls walked home from the park together...

And finally, the girls and I did a little pre-NYE girls night out, and I had my first margarita (well first alcohol drink at all) in almost a YEAR!!!  It was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.

Ella is TWO! (and baby is 27 weeks)

Ella at TWO

Height: 36 1/4" (95th percentile!!)
Weight: 28 lbs. (70th percentile)

Ella is in a size 6 diaper and between an 18-24month and 2T in clothes.  She is a good eater, but definitely loves snacky foods (just like mommy!).  Her favorite vegetables are broccoli and green beans.  We still don't give her juice, but she loves water and LOVES milk.  I'm not sure what her favorite food is, but she does ask for cupcakes (which she calls pancakes) often, which is pretty funny since we generally don't allow her to have sweets yet so she's only had them maybe 3 or 4 times!

She still doesn't scream or throw screaming tantrums (but does sometimes just sit down), and every time I hear a child screaming in the store, I feel SO fortunate that Ella has never once done that (yet!).  She is very confident, friendly and outgoing, but she will get shy.  In stores, she will say "hi" to every person that walks by, but if someone says hi to her first, she tends to get shy.  She can get a little pushy with her friends and don't even think about sitting on her chair!  She is definitely starting to push limits and test us, but she just laughs when you put her in time-out (this is a problem!).  The most regular thing she get placed in time-out for is hitting, kicking or pulling the hair of Rylee.  So far, I don't have much to complain about.  She is so happy, and I LOVE being with her.  She constantly makes us laugh.  Our lives must have been so boring before her!

She is FINALLY becoming more of a mama's girl!  It only took 2 years. ;)  Of course she still adores her daddy, but she often prefers me in the mornings and late afternoons, which is a change.  She is definitely more clingy and cuddly than she used to be, but she is still fiercely independent.

Her favorite toys by far are her baby dolls.  They are pretty much all she plays with.  She will lay them all face down on the floor and put blankets entirely covering them (it looks a bit scary in our house).  She pushes them around in her shopping carts and stroller as well.  She also loves books, and Llama Llama books are her favorites right now.

She is talking up a storm and understands EVERYTHING.  We need to remember that more often.

When we were going through the infertility years, I would often ask why we were being punished.  Why we weren't able to have a baby.  What did we do to deserve this?  Now I know that we were meant to wait for Ella to come into our lives.  She is our everything.

Pregnancy/ Baby

I'm starting to not feel good at all.  I'm swelling up all the time and generally don't feel good.  It's REALLY hard taking care of toddler while pregnant and swollen.  I'm getting really paranoid that I'm getting pre-e again because of the swelling, but my blood pressure is still low.

We had a perinatologist appointment today, and baby weights 1 lb. 15oz. (I'll be 27 weeks tomorrow).  At first they said his abdomen was measuring small, but they thought it was due to position (i.e. they couldn't get a great measurement).  The doctor measured again after the tech and got a better measurement so I think all is good, but I couldn't tell because he was saying it's nothing to worry about now...I was thinking, well when DO you worry about it?!

18 Month Stats & Easter Egg Hunt!

Ella had her 18 month well visit today- she is growing like a weed!  She's getting taller and skinnier.
Weight 25.4 pounds (55%)
Height 33 inches (90%)

I think the best thing he said was that (a) we could lower her milk intake from 24 down to 20 oz. a day and (b) we can start buying regular milk as long as we feed her lots of eggs and a bit of fish.  We've been spending a fortune buying that organic DHA/Omega 3 milk, and at 24 ounces a day, we go through it FAST.  Her ped said he doesn't think it's necessary to buy that kind, especially since it's a ton more expensive then regular milk...yippee!!  He also said even though she's quite lean, we can switch her to lowfat or 1% milk.

In other development news, not only has she started saying "no" and "uh oh" a lot, she is also now telling Rylee to "shut up" when Rylee barks.  That's right, my 18 month old is saying SHUT UP.  Great parenting skills we've got, huh?  She won't say the word "eat", yet she'll say "shut up", which I think she's maybe heard twice in her life???  Lesson learned.

We also had our Easter party/ egg hunt with our mommy group today.  The GOOD: Ella has never had chocolate so when she'd open up an egg with chocolate in it, she'd throw it on the ground and look for one with puffs or goldfish in it that she could snack on!  (She wouldn't collect eggs and put them in her basket...she would open one, see what was inside, throw it on the ground, go for another).  The BAD:  Ella is TERRIFIED of the Easter Bunny.  Terrified.  She would not let me put her down, and when the bunny came near us, she literally started shaking.  I felt so bad for her.  I'm so bummed because I *really* want to get a photo with the Easter Bunny at Fashion Island, but I'm scared I'll traumatize her.  Will it traumatize her if I force her screaming and crying to sit on the bunny's lap for a photo???

Despite the bunny trauma (I have to admit those costumes are freaky looking), she had lots of fun with her friends...

ONE Year Old!

We made it!  I can't keep a basil plant alive to save my life, but we turned a 4 pound preemie into a 21 pound happy healthy little girl!

We had her 1 year well visit this morning, and once again, the doctor was very happy with her progress.  He said she is very advanced on gross motor skills, but we need to work on her talking a bit more by reading to her and telling her what everything is.  He said he is happy that she is very social and has excellent eye contact.  He noted that toe walking is VERY common at this age, and they consider it normal, BUT if she's still doing it at her next appointment (15 months), we have to make an appointment with an ortho.

She got 4 shots today. :(  Hep A, Hep B, MMR and Varivax (chickpox).  She also got pricked in both big toes because our ped does a full CBC screening.  The toe pricking didn't bother her in the least.  She screamed during the vaccines, but once we got home, she was in the BEST mood...maybe I need to stick needles in her thighs more often. ;)

She weighs 21.12 pounds (about 50th percentile)
She is 30 inches (about 65th percentile, but 85th percentile if you go by her adjusted age, which the doctor does...we think she's even taller- we're going to try and measure her again tonight a different way)
I never remember her head circumference, but it's 44th percentile I think.

She has made amazing strides in the last month.  The more she accomplishes, the happier she gets.  One year old Ella facts:

• She crawls at lightening speed, cruises everywhere, pulls herself up on anything and walks 5 or 6 steps at time...sometimes she even walks across the room (yet STILL cannot get herself up to a standing position on her own without pulling up on something);
• She waves hi and bye all the time, shakes her head "no", claps less frequently and recently started pointing...she'll touch fingers with you, and we say, "Wonder Twin powers ACTIVATE!" which she thinks is really funny;
• She loves having babbling conversations and says "dada" and "mom" for more (we think);
• She is so happy and doesn't really have meltdowns (our photographers said she is the first baby they've ever photographed that didn't cry at all or have a major meltdown during the whole photo session!), but she does get upset when she doesn't get her way;
• She is still very independent and will go to anyone...she will cry when we leave sometimes, but she gets over it in about 3 seconds;
• She has become much more affectionate and loves to crawl all over us, jump on us, run to us and even sit in our laps;
• She still loves Rylee, and we are trying to teach her "gentle", but there has been a lot of hair pulling in the process;
• She loves balls, puzzles and baby sized chairs;
• She still is not very into tv;
• She still naps about 9:30am-11am and 3pm-430pm;
• She gets three 8 oz. bottles a day (7am, 2pm, 730pm);
• She eats table food at 8:30am, 12pm and 5pm- she loves meat and vegetables...she's not huge on carbs and fruit...I wish I had her diet;
• She wears a size 3 diaper and 12 month or 12-18 month in clothes.

This will probably be the last monthly update, but I can't wait for what the next year will bring!

11 Months Old

Ella is 11 months old today!  I can't believe she will be ONE YEAR OLD in a month.  Crazy.

She gets more fun, more active, more mischievous, and more independent every single day.  She is babbling up a storm, but she STILL doesn't seem to say mama or dada in relation to Gary or I!!!  What the heck?!  We *think* she sort of says "ball" (ba), "up" and "uh oh".  Who knows.  She vehemently shakes her head side to side when she doesn't want or like something.  So she definitely gets the concept of no even though she can't say it (and doesn't obey it!).

She loves the pool- probably because it's the only place she can walk!  I think her favorite game is playing ball- she loves throwing the ball to you...she could do it for hours.  She LOVES watching Rylee play fetch with a ball- she cracks up.  As for her 8 million toys...she's "eh" about those.  I swear, we might as well give her a phone, a piece of paper, a spoon and any other random object that she isn't supposed to have.  She loves to climb the stairs (AHHH!) and always heads straight for them (so we have to lock her in the kitchen/family room now).



She is a master crawler and cruiser and pull herself upper but still does not have any inclination towards standing on her own without holding onto something.  She likes to push things, but if you try walking with her while holding her hands, she tends to sit down!  We may have a very late walker on our hands.  She waves "hi" and "bye", claps and gives high fives...it's so darn cute.

She is eating three 8 oz. formula bottles and solids 3 times a day 8:30, 12:00 and 5:00.  She won't let us feed her anymore, which means meal times are VERY messy in our house.  She likes yogurt, cheerios, puffs, baby cheetos, string cheese, sliced turkey meat (she LOVES meat), broccoli and eggs.

She naps twice day.  9/9:30-10:30/11 and 2:30-4:00.  She is an amazing nighttime sleeper and never ever wakes up in the middle of the night.  We are so lucky in that respect.  Even vacations or missed naps don't affect her.  However, she does always wake up at 6:30 a.m., so she's definitely an early riser!  Right now that works really well for our schedule (or Gary's schedule?), but if I ever don't work, I'm going to have to have a serious discussion with her about sleeping in.

She still wears a size 3 diaper.  She is in 12 month clothes, and I even put her in 12-18 month sometimes.

She is just overall a really good baby, and I'm so proud to be her mama!

10 Months Old

That's right...we're just TWO months away from having a one year old!  This kid gets more of a personality every single day.  It's so fun to watch her grow, change, learn.

We don't have a doctor's appointment this week, but we did some unofficial measurements today, and she hasn't grown at all since last month! She still weighs 19-19.5 pounds and is 28 inches. She pretty much wears 6-12 month or 12 month clothing. She is still in a size 3 diaper. Eats the same too...four 6 oz. bottles a day and solids 3 times a day. It's so easy to give her jarred purees and pastas that we pretty much do those all the time.

She is crawling, pulling up and cruising a little bit along the couch. She is still super friendly and doesn't have even an ounce of stranger anxiety. She knows what she likes and what she doesn't like, and she gets bored easily. She is still in love with Rylee, but we're trying to teach her "gentle" because poor Rylee is losing hair in chunks.

We are lucky that she is very easy to take out with us because we really just love being with her. She is our little buddy, and we prefer to be with her than without her! I'm sure we'll eventually be longing for those dates nights alone, but right now, we just want to be with her as much as possible. :)